


The One With the Coffee Shop

by thirtypercentdone



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-07 04:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15900537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirtypercentdone/pseuds/thirtypercentdone
Summary: Baz, Agatha, and Penelope work at a coffee shop, Simon just really likes black coffee and Baz just really likes Simon.A high school AU where Simon is the jock (but he's not dumb) and Baz is an academic (but he's not heartless)'The gang ruins a perfectly good shop by being gay' was the alternate title for this fic.





	The One With the Coffee Shop

Baz loathed his stupid job. Customers were rude, or obscenely flirty, and the pay was shit. But what can he say? He needs the money.

At least Penny and Agatha are in the same boat, he thinks that by exam season the only thing getting him through will be Penny’s amazing coffee (he and Agatha managed to burn water once) and the fact that he actually has friends.

Well, he had friends. But Dev and Niall made it abundantly clear the only stuck around for his family's money, and after that was gone, so were they. It seems the Pitches don’t have much change to spare on an obnoxiously gay teenager who refuses to hide who he is for the sake of reputation. 

So, they kicked him out. He had barely had time to say goodbye to Morelia before he was pushed out the door. Luckily, his Aunt Fiona wasn’t a homophobic piece of garbage, so she took him in and now they both lived in her small London apartment about twenty minutes from his school.

He appreciated Fiona’s kindness, but working was harder than he thought, having come from not having to do any. Agatha had compared him to season one Rachel from Friends. Whatever that meant. 

He was lucky that he could attend Watford on a scholarship because at the point he wouldn’t put it past his parents to stop paying tuition altogether. Still, a scholarship meant he had to work twice as hard as the other students. Spending days in the library with Penny and reading University brochures to see which school had the best journalism program. Because if the world was going to change, Baz was going to write all about it.

He has just finished making a ridiculously complicated drink order for a woman with horrific blonde highlights when he spots a familiar head of curls walking through the doorway.

Simon Snow was Penelope’s best friend and Baz’s childhood nemesis, and now begrudgingly friendly acquaintance. He always came in at noon to buy a black coffee (ew) and two of Ebb’s special sour cherry scones. 

After his order came he would lean against the counter to chat with Agatha and Pen, flirting a little bit with the former until she reminded him she was exclusively attracted to women (read: exclusively attracted to Penny)

He and Baz used to clash on everything because they were total opposites. Simon was the quarterback (Baz used to play, but the practices clashed with tutoring), the golden boy, girls literally threw themselves at him. And Baz.. well, he was a bit reserved, spending more time in the library than was strictly necessary and keeping his nose shoved firmly in a book until someone snapped their fingers in front of his face. They were different, but that wasn’t always bad. It just made their interactions difficult for a period of time.

The rivalry began in the sixth grade when Baz said that maybe some people would benefit from the school offering a kindergarten reading level. And Simon suggested that other people could go outside for once and stop behaving like a bloody vampire. Things spiraled from there, with none of their fights getting physical, but some leaving both of their voices raw from screaming.

This finally ended during sophomore year, around when Baz got kicked out and decided to apply for a job at Ebbs. He had met Penelope there, and she had convinced both of them that real life people didn’t have a ‘nemesis’ and that their feud was stupid. Baz conceded a bit after Simon did, and now their dynamic was less tense and strained, but more light and easy.

“Hello welcome to Ebb’s, may I take your order?”, Baz drones. 

“Baz, you know my order, I come here every day”, Simon responds incredulously

“Well, I never know when you might come to your senses and order something other than black coffee”

“It’s real coffee!”, Simon laughs.

“It’s an abomination is what it is, would it kill you to add some cream or sugar?”

“As a matter a fact, it would. Can I please get a black coffee and two sour cherry scones?”

“It’s your funeral”

One other detail Baz might have forgotten to mention: He is hopelessly in love with Simon Snow. 

It had started as a small crush when he was young and evolved into an excruciating one-sided romance as they grew older. Agatha teased him about it constantly, but then again, he bugged her about Penny pretty often too.

He watches as Pen and Simon talked and he spills crumbs from his scone all over his shirt collar, it was almost endearing. Keyword almost, it was actually super gross.

Agatha, of course, catches him staring, and laughs to herself for a bit before coming up behind the dark-haired boy and causing him to jump at the sound of her voice, “Hey loverboy, do your job”

Baz responds by rolling his eyes and returning to work the register and take orders for the rest of the day.

When he gets back to Fiona’s that night and collapses on her couch, she is already watching a sea animals documentary. She offers him some popcorn, he, of course, accepts. 

He and Fiona have always been close, ever since his mother died she had put it on herself to fill that role. She came to his football games when he used to play, she recommended him books, she yelled at him when he screwed up. 

It was nice. But sometimes Baz wished his actual mother had stuck around. 

Natasha Pitch was a legend, she was beloved, an author with fiery commentary in interviews and real life. When Baz had first read her books, he was amazed, astounded. The characters were perfectly crafted, and the dark themes weren’t disturbing enough to be in the ‘adult books’ section.

Needless to say, her “freak accident’ death in a forest fire was unexpected. It was in the tabloids for a couple weeks, but then she was forgotten.

Well, never really forgotten. 

Baz still thinks about her, about what she was doing in that forest. Ways somebody could have saved her.

He puts that on his list of things not to think about, a very short list consisting of His mother’s tragic death and Simon Snow.

After the documentary is over, Fiona passes out on the couch, she can never stay awake when a tv is on. He grabs a blanket from the linen closet and drapes it over her sleeping form. Baz hopes she doesn’t have work tomorrow, whenever she falls asleep in front of the telly she wakes up with a crick in her neck. Complaining all morning

(“Jesus Basil, you couldn’t have woken me up?”)

He quietly goes the guest bedroom, stripping down to his boxers before promptly collapsing onto the mattress. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of year 11. And Penelope insisted that at the club fair (Yes, Watford has those) He and Agatha help her represent the debate team.

He and Agatha aren’t on the debate team mind you, but only one other member is showing up and she needs help passing out flyers. Unfortunately, the one other member showing up is Rhys. Who used to be nice, but is now perhaps the most annoying person on the planet. Baz and Agatha have been texting back and forth all night trying to figure out what to do with the guy.

Wellbeloved: I say we make Penny deal with him, it’s her debate team.

Paz Bitch: No, she’s stressed enough as it is. We have to help somehow.

Wellbeloved: Last time we went to one of Penny’s debates he hit on me for an HOUR after I said I was gay.

Paz Bitch: He’ll hit on anything with a pulse Ags, I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm.  
Wellbeloved: Fine. I’ll take the second half of the club fair. But you owe me one Penelope-made coffee.

Paz Bitch: Why don’t you just ask her to make you one???

Wellbeloved: Because she’s pretty and I am a disaster, Basil.

Paz Bitch: Perfectly reasonable. 

Baz sets down his phone on the bedside table and sighs, He puts on a T-Shirt that belonged to one of Fiona’s one night stands and is way too big for him before turning off the lights and going to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all. If you've read my other stuff, you'll notice I've been writing a lot of the girls lately, but I kind of hit a wall with that, and honestly? I really, really wanted to do a fluffy coffee shop fic. Points if you caught the friends reference in the title.


End file.
